Madeleine McCann: Police to use radar in hunt for suspect sites at the holiday resort

BRITISH police searching for Madeleine McCann are to start digging at the holiday resort she vanished from seven years ago.

Madeleine vanished at age three, but her family keeps hoping seven years later[PA]

They are preparing to excavate up to five sites in and around Praia da Luz in Portugal.

The sites are thought to include wasteland close to the apartment where Madeleine’s family were staying, along with a nearby beach.

Last night local reports said investigators want to examine roadworks being carried out when Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007, which were filled in shortly afterwards.

Two areas outside the resort will also be searched in the operation, it was claimed.

Detectives said the searches could coincide with arrests.

Madeleine’s parents Kate, 46, and Gerry, 45, have been fully briefed on the plan by Scotland Yard.

The tormented couple are bracing themselves for their worst nightmare if the investigation reveals a body.

Portuguese authorities gave the go-ahead for the searches after a formal request from Scotland Yard.

A team of expert forensic officers will use ground-penetrating radar equipment to uncover areas where earth has been disturbed.

Mechanical diggers and earth moving equipment will then be brought in.

Permission for the operation was sought alongside a series of requests made by British detectives in a letter sent to the Portuguese authorities in February.

Portuguese police and officials will carry out the work on behalf of Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange.

For the first time British officers will be working alongside their Portuguese counterparts on the ground.

The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “As always, we simply will not comment on operational details of Operation Grange. That is a matter for the Met Police.

“Kate and Gerry are being kept fully informed throughout.”

A source close to the couple said: “They don’t believe police are acting on any new tip-off.

“They just need to carry out their own digs, looking for any possible clues that Portuguese authorities may have missed on their previous searches.

“Police have assured Kate and Gerry that it does not mean they are specifically searching for her body. They are doing searches to rule scenarios out as much as rule them in. They will be concentrating on several different places at different phases.”

Last night Scotland Yard confirmed that the case was “moving towards increased action in Portugal.”

It said “activity will occur in forthcoming weeks”.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the action was being taken as a result of the international letters of request.

Kate McCann appeals to holidaymakers for information to help find Madeleine [GETTY]

Kate and Gerry are being kept fully informed throughout

The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell

The high-ranking officer has been in talks with his opposite number in Portugal’s Policia Judiciara which is also investigating Madeleine’s disappearance.

He said the process “is more bureaucratic and slower than we would wish”.

But he added in an open letter that police are “increasingly optimistic of that activity starting soon”.

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said he would be unable to “provide any information concerning the activity”.

He said the Portuguese had threatened to halt the searches if media interest is seen to cause ­disruption.

The moves come as the couple are preparing for the saddest day of the year on May 12 – Madeleine’s birthday.

At the weekend, Kate and Gerry thanked the public for their unstinting support at a service in their home town of Rothley, Leics.

Heart consultant Gerry said police “are chipping away and obviously there is new evidence, so we are going to continue to hope that we will get a happy outcome”.